Button.



0. E. BACKUS.

BUTTON.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 23. 1914.

1,127,847. 7 Patented Feb. 9, 1915.

V Straw? THE NORRIS PETERS CO.. PHOTU-LIYHQ. WASHINGRJN D. C.

awua 1/1/1204,

FFFOE.

OSCAR n. BACKUS, or WAnKEsi-m, Wisconsin.

BUTTON.

menses.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. e, 1915.

Application filed March 23, 1914. Serial No. 826,718.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OSCAR E. BACKUS, of Waukesha, Wisconsin, haveinvented a But ton, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to buttons or garment fastenings, and the objectwhich I have in view is to produce a button or like fastening whichcanbe readily attached to the garment or fabric without sewing.

A further object of the invention is to provide means whereby the buttoncan be readily attached to any fabric and detached therefrom again ifdesired by a simple manipulation and without in any way injuring thefabric.

The essential principle of my button c011- sists in providing it with adisengageable loop or bail which has a sharpened point adapted to beinserted in, the fabric to which it is to be attached and which isthereafter adapted to be engaged with the body of the button.

More exactly, the nature of my invention may be ascertained from theaccompanying drawings illustrative thereof, taken in connection with thefollowing description of said drawings; and the parts or combinationswhich I claim as new are more particularly set forth in my claims. Saiddrawings illustrate three forms or embodiments of my invention, the samebeing drawn to a scale somewhat larger than the ordinary or naturalsize, and herein Figure 1 is a bottom plan-view of the body of the firstform of button, the engaged position of the bail being indicated bydotted lines; Fig. 2 is an axial section of the button in the positionof use, on plane 2; Fig. 3 is an axial section on the plane 3, the bailbeing shown in elevation except one end thereof; Fig. l is a bottomplan-view I showing the bail in disengaged position,

ready for engaging it with the fabric; Fig.

5 is a bottom plan-view of the body of the second form of button, inwhich the bail is adapted to be completely disengaged from the body;Fig. 6 is a bottom plan-view showing the bail with one end disengaged;Fig. 7 a perspective view of the bail of this form; and Fig. 8 is abottom plan-view of the third form of button.

The reference letters refer each to the same part in each figure of thedrawing.

Considering first the form of button shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive,the'body but this has no relevancy to my invention,-

and the body of the button may be formed in any manner whatever,provided it has the two plates at and a or their equivalent. Saidbottom-plate c is made of spring-metal and is perforated by two holes(Z, which lie on the same diameter and are adapted to receive the twoshanks of the bail e. The bail e as shown is made in the form of a loop,which is adapted to engage a portion ofthe material to which the buttonis to be attached, and one lug or shank of this bail has its end turnedat right-angles, as shown at f, in the planeof the bail, and thensubsequently again at right-angles to the plane of the bail as shown at.g; the distance between the axis of the shank and the end portion 9being. very short so that the bail can be turned from the position shownin full lines shown, in Fig. 3 to that shown in dotted lines whenthe.other end of the bail is not engaged. The other end it of the bail isalso turned at right-angles to the shank thereof and in the plane ,ofthe bail, and is pointed so as to enable it to readily pierce the fabricor goods to which the button is to be attached. There are formed in thebot tom-plate 0 two cuts 71 and j, which meet at one side of the hole03, through which the shank of the bail having the pointed end itpasses; my invention'does not require any particular or necessary shapeof these cuts a and j, but they are so formed that their distant endsapproach one another as shown, sufliciently to form a flexiblespring-tongue 7c. This spring-tongue, it will be obvious, normally liesin the plane of the bodyplate 0.

The mode of operation of this form of my button is as follows: In themanufacture of the button the bent end f, g, of the bail e is confinedbetween the plates u. and c, the shank e passing through the hole 0? andthereafter is nonremovable. The other end it of the bail is, however,insertible into andremovable from its hole d by manually depressing thespring-tongue When inserted in the position shown in Fig. 3 it will beclear that the edge of the spring-tongue forms an abutment to keep it inthe hole, and therefore to hold the bail in the dotted line position ofFig. 1, or full line positions of Figs. 2 and 3. Now if thespring-tongue 70 be manually depressed, "the bail can be turned aboutthe upper hole (Z of Fig. las 5 a bearing, as illustrated in Fig. 4, thelower shank and end it being released fromen- 'gage'ment with'the'bottom-plate 0 and coming. outside thereof. The: bail can now be turnedinto the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, thatisto say, aboutthe straight end gas an axis, but it cannot be removed or I fall outfrom its place. The "pointed'end having been inserted into and"engaged-with a'sufhcient portion of the-fabricis-turned down again intothe -position of Fig.4,-and being depressed can be rotated so astoengage under the plate c again, and when theshank is in the socket-holed the spring-tongue 7c snaps" back into place hold- 'i'ngit'there.

The second form ofbutton illustrates the same principle, with, however,the *a-dded provision of means whereby the bailcan be removedaltogetherif it is desired to do so. l-nthis case the cuts-i and j are duplicated,

one of each such cuts bein-g'formed symmetrically with respect to theother, thus providing a spring-tongue 70 for each of the twosocket-holes d. The bail e is identical inrespect to the bent portions fand g on one end to that previously shown, and it might be effectivelyin all respects made identical, but i-nthis case between the shank andthe pointed end h I have provided 5 a right-angled offset m, whereby ashoulderis provided to enable the shank more elfectivelyto engageunder-the plate 0 on the edge of the holed. As previously, disengagementof: the pointed end h'isfirst ef- 40 i fected by depressing thecorresponding spring-tongue 7c and rotating the bail about the oppositeshank. Should it now be desiredto disengage the other end also from itssocket,'the bail is rotated'sufiiciently so thatits straight portion 9completely underlies the left-hand tongue 70 of'Figs. 5 and 6, and itthen can be released by pulling on .the bail, which will cause thetongue'lc to yield outwardly sufficiently to enable the end 9 to slideout.

In the third form of button the body is made the same as in Figs. 5 and6 but the bail efis-made ina different-form from either of'theforegoing, the shanks thereof having their ends 9' turned'first at rightangles from thezplane ofthe bail in opposite or symmetrical directionsaway from "the spring-tongues as shown. In'this form of button eitherend ofthe bail maybe detache'd'independently of the other, as is thecase with only one end in the foregoing forms, or both may be detachedsimultaneously by :pressing both of the springtongues J0 androtating'the bail with the 6 1 same fingers that press: the tongues.

volved.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as newanddesireto'secure by,=Let ters latent is 11. The combination of:abuttombody comprising twoiplates spaced apartto leave a fiat open spacebetween them, one of said plates havingapair of socket-holes adapted soto 'receivethe shanks of aloop-shaped bail and having a "spring tonguethe end of which'forms one side of one ofsaid holes when- :111normalposition and can be de-' i pressed so as to leave said side ofthehole 35 open; and a loop-shaped bailhaving two parallel shanks, one ofwhich engages in the other hole and has means lying between thetwo-plates for holdingit in said hole whereby the bail can be turnedabout'said shank-and I hole as a pivot, and the other shank having itsend" bent at right-angles and pointed, andadapted to be received in theother hole of'which the spring tongue forms one side.

2. The combination of a button-body comprising two plates spacedapart-to leave a fiat'open space between them, oneof said plates havinga pair ofsocket-holes adapted to receive the shanks of a-loop-shapedbail and having springvtongues the ends of which form one side of therespective holes when in normal; position and can be pressed out of theplane of theplate soasto release the shank confined in the correspondinghole; and a loop-shaped bail having two parallelshanks adapted toengagein said holes,- one of said shanks having its end bent at right anglesand pointed and adapted to be released from its hole by depressing thecorresponding spring-tongue whereby the bail can be rotated-about theaxis of the other shank, and the other shank havingits end bentat rightangles to the plane of the bail and thereby confined between the twoplates but adapted to be released-therefrom when the bail has beenturned inthe manner aforesai'd until said bent end lies entirely underthe secondspring-tongue whereby the spring-tongue can'be deflected bypulling on said bail.

and having springvr-tongues the ends of which'form one side oftherespective holes when in normal position and can be pressed out ofthe plane ofthei plate so as to release 13o the shank confined in thecorresponding In Witness whereof I have hereunto set ho1e;1andanlioopshapgd bail having twg my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

paral e1 sha s a apte to engage in sai holes, said shanks having theirends bent at OSCAR BAGKUS 5 right angles and adapted to be released fromWitnesses:

their sockets by depressing one of said KIRK MUIR,

spring-tongues and rotating the bail. CARL L. SAWYER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

